Games galore #17: Wilcza Buda, Tinyus, Creeping Me Out: Hex Night, Crazy Columns, Putter commercially released

Demo group aBYSs strikes again with another arcade classic remake, Putter gets a physical release, we have an interesting point-and-click adventure from Poland, a beautiful action-adventure platformer, and an addictive arcade puzzler.

Wilcza Buda

"Wilcza Buda" looks homegrown, and very ambitious at the same time. It's a point-and-click adventure by mc Studio from Poland. The game can be played in Polish and English, runs on any Amiga with Kickstart 1.2 or better, and 1MB ChipRAM plus 1.5MB. There's also a HAM6 graphics version that requires a harddisc, Workbench 2.0, and 2MB of ChipRAM.

The storyline roughly goes like this: Move around and meet people, to find your beloved grandma - but beware, you will encounter characters from another world, the forces of darkness...!

Sounds scary, and the game opens with an equally scary title screen. Tasteful, moody - scary? - music plays as you point-and-click yourself through the game, listening to grandpa's stories of times long gone, of soldiers, of werewolves...

"Wilcza Buda" is a very interesting project that seems like a bit of a mixture of Mist and Darkseed. Also it's one of the very few games that utilizes HAM mode. If you like dark adventures, or you're a horror geek, this is definitely one you should check out.

Here's a video of the HAM6 demo version from great YouTube channel Saberman:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVX-qiYLuwQ 

Go to the game's website (you can switch to English language) to download "Wilcza Buda" demo:
http://www.wilczabuda.pl

Additional sources:
http://www.indieretronews.com/2021/02/wilcza-buda-interactive-amiga-adventure.html

Tinyus (Gradius remake)

After the awesome "TinyInvaders", "TinyGalaga", and "TinyBobble", this year demo group aBYSs brings us "Tinyus", a remake of 1986 arcade shoot-em-up classic "Gradius"!

To some, "Gradius" has always been the pinnacle of shoot-em-ups, the one that was just too good to be true on homecomputers. The C64 version called "Nemesis" played really good, but had to omit elements of the original arcade machine. There was never a port for the Amiga - until now.

In February 2021 a beta version of "Tinyus" was released to the public - and just like the previous aBYSs releases it's awesome. This is how "Gradius" should look on the Amiga. It doesn't get much more arcade than this - near-perfect graphics, tons of moving objects on screen, and a well done attempt at reproducing the multichannel soundtrack from the original hardware.

The game requires an OCS Amiga with 512KB ChipRAM and 512KB SlowRAM or better, some acceleration / Amiga 1200 is recommended for fluid 50fps performance. At the time of this writing development is still ongoing (beta testing), a final version is likely to be released in the near future.

The latest testing version seems to be 0.2 - if you want to try it, click here to download from aBYSs' website:
http://abyss-online.de/eab/aYs_Tinyus_Beta0.2.adf

(this is a beta version, might be outdated)

Additional sources:
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=105695
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gradius_(video_game)
http://www.indieretronews.com/2021/02/tinyus-arcade-quality-amiga-ocs-port-of.html

Creeping Me Out: Hex Night

...by Michael "Mixel" Dawes is an action-adventure platformer currently under development, built using Eric "earok" Hogan's Scorpion engine.

The game features characters and locations from Michael's comic series "Creeping Me Out", which you can admire at https://www.creepingmeout.com. (The author explicitly states that no knowledge gained from the comics is required to complete the computer game.)

You control a character called Francis (check out the comic series if you'd like to know more about him) on his search for his friends.

The game is in early development stage, but it already looks gorgeous. Visually, it has lots of elements reminiscent of The Addams Family or The Munsters, as well as 1950s science-fiction in Technicolor, and it's just beautifully drawn and animated. We can already see some interesting little game mechanics, like little bugs that try to attack and stick to Francis. Also there are ladders, scrolls with hidden meanings, things to punch, things that crawl, things that drop, ... lots of things! There will probably be even more things to discover, as the author states he has a strong element of exploration in mind.

The game is planned to require harddisc and/or CD drive. A demo is said to be released soon.

Here's the latest work-in-progress video from Michael's YouTube channel "Mixel's Lab" (2021-03-05):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GxLe6wbrjw

Go to the game's website to find out more:
http://mixelmagic.com/cmo-hex-night-amiga/

And don't forget to buy one of Mixel's comic books:
https://artithmeric.com/author/mfdawes/

Additional sources:
https://twitter.com/MFDawes/
https://www.lemonamiga.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17454
http://www.indieretronews.com/2021/03/creeping-me-out-hex-night-upcoming.html

 

Crazy Columns ("pre-version")

This is an arcade puzzle game similar to Tetris, and even more similar to 1990 SEGA game "Columns". 

You drop pieces in a playfield like in Tetris, and the pieces' tiles must color-match previously dropped pieces in order to remove them from the playfield. One, or two players on separate playfields simultaneously, control their pieces with keyboard or joystick, accompanied by some decent music tracks. There are multiple different playing modes and background graphics, and you can add your own background images. It runs on any Amiga with 512KB RAM.

"Crazy Columns" has a great soundtrack, looks colorful, but clear and polished, is easy to learn and play, yet challenging and addictive - certainly a must-have for friends of Tetris, Klax, Bust-A-Move/Puzzle Bobble, and the likes, as well as for any casual gamer.

You can watch a video of current "pre-version" 0.98 of "Crazy Columns" on Saberman's YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk0aBMqxzMs

Click here to go the game's website and download the latest version:
https://www.crazy-columns.hoffer-industries.com

Additional sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columns_(video_game)
http://www.amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2021-01-00036-EN.html
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=105559
http://www.indieretronews.com/2021/01/crazy-columns-columns-game-makes-its.html

 

"Putter" goes commercial, boxed release

It hasn't been a long time since we reported about "Putter" demo by Jacek "czorny" Nockowski, and we already have an update: Putter has just been released as a commercial, boxed edition with floppy disk and CD.

The game runs on AGA Amiga, and a little bit of acceleration (e.g. overclocked 020) is recommended for optimal performance.

You can buy "Putter" from allegro.pl:
https://allegro.pl/oferta/gra-putter-box-dyskietka-cd-2021-smart-10579173312

Additional sources:
http://www.indieretronews.com/2021/04/putter-charming-little-arcade.html
http://amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2021-04-00024-EN.html 

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Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for "Games galore #18"!

Check out "Games galore" main page with all articles -
click here!

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Support Amiga game development! Buy a game!

Games galore #16: Putter, Heart of Darkness, Super-Go-Down-The-Hole, Space Invaders, Inca Man

When I last said it'd become hard to keep up with Amiga gaming news, it was a little bit tongue-in-cheek. By now it has become genuinely - and enjoyably - hard, with projects and announcements popping up more frequently than the average "Games galore" hobbyist writer is able to update his articles.

Putter (demo)

From the author that created "Chicken Coop" comes another good looking game that involves a frog, and what appears to be soccer plus golfing. 

Built using the RedPill engine, in this game developer "Czorny" lets you control the aforementioned frog in order to kick a soccer ball around the playfield into a hole - kind-of like golfing, only with a vertical jump-and-run playfield with bonus items, obstacles and enemies. 

The word "enemies" is a bit of a stretch here - everything looks really adorable, you'll encounter cute fish and a bird, with minimalistic but very funny and fitting sounds (applause!). This should be well suited for the smaller ones in the family, while still being good fun for grown ups.

Watch "Putter - demo" video (2020-12-10):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae-Q5MFcdgk

For more information check out the forum thread:
https://www.ppa.pl/rodzynki/putter-wersja-demonstracyjna.html

Additional sources:
http://amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2020-12-00024-EN.html
https://www.ppa.pl/rodzynki/chicken-coop.html
http://www.indieretronews.com/2020/12/putter-charming-little-arcade.html

Heart of Darkness

If you're an 68000 plus OCS purist, then this is not your favourite game. But if you're into heating up your 68040, or the likes (fast WinUAE counts, too), you're gonna want this.

While the Amiga purist scene is exploding with new releases, fueled even further by modern game construction kits like Scorpion and RedPill engine, it's become comparably silent on the next-generation-Amiga side of things, so high-spec game releases are a welcome sign.

"Heart Of Darkness" is a huge 90s era game ported to the Amiga, that requires some horsepower, and the original PC/Playstation game files (full game, or demo). It's a side-view adventure type game similar to "Another World", but has far more advanced graphics and sound, and truckloads of both. 

You control character Andy on his search for his dog Whiskey through the various places of "Heart Of Darkness", avoiding evil shadows, solving puzzles, wild animals, and other obstacles.

Cinematic movie sequences...

In terms of gameplay, "Heart Of Darkness" is a well known concept, but visually it's certainly another world (...pun...), it's been a long time since such highly elaborate graphics were seen in an Amiga game. The 3D rendered characters don't look scary, but actually likeable, the 3D animators did a great job, and the game characters and backgrounds are just beautifully detailed and animated, along with some handdrawn cartoon effects thrown in. It's a cinematic experience that comes pretty close to playing a part in your own animated feature film.

Great job by the original deverlopers, as well as the Amiga porters. If you have lots of harddisc space, and a fast Amiga (or Vampire or WinUAE), "Heart Of Darkness" is a must-have.

...and high quality animations

Click here to download "Heart of Darkness":
http://netsurf.baderman.net/HeartofDarkness.lha

NOTE: requires original game files (from PC installed full game or demo, copy entire folder to Amiga), and powerful CPU. see sources below for more information.

Additional sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_of_Darkness_(video_game)
https://www.myabandonware.com/game/heart-of-darkness-a4h (PC version download)
https://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=84905 (Amiga version forum thread / instructions)
http://www.indieretronews.com/2020/11/heart-of-darkness-on-amiga-high-end.html

Super-Go-Down-The-Hole

Eric "earok" Hogan has released another game created using his Scorpion engine, called "Super-Go-Down-The-Hole", which is a remake of a PC title by Sergio Cornaga. 

Jump, climb, slide, push, run - the game mechanics are a little bit more sophisticated than your average platformer, and you have to "Super-Go-Down-The-Hole" a hole, which means a cave, figuring out the best ways to avoid obstacles and enemies.

Graphics are simple, but nice and effective, as are the sound effects, with a pretty accurate recreation of the original PC game's music playing along (which probably was played by a MIDI soundcard on the PC). The game requires an Amiga 500 with 512KB ChipRAM and 512KB SlowRAM or better.

Note that "Super-Go-Down-The-Hole" was released beta status - by the time you're reading this there's probably an updated version available, see "Additional sources" below (e.g. EAB thread).

Watch a video of "Super-Go-Down-The-Hole" (2020-12-23):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaKxyqgFw7U

You can download "Super-Go-Down-The-Hole" from earok's website:
http://earok.net/games/sgdth/sgdth.adf

Additional sources:
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=105116 (game download adf / lha / iso)
https://sergiocornaga.tumblr.com/post/7416495044/you-have-to-go-down-the-hole-2009
http://amiga-news.de/de/news/AN-2020-12-00078-DE.html

Space Invaders

This title sounds familiar, doesn't it? Around December 2020 this new recreation of arcade super classic "Space Invaders" popped up. It's written in BlitzBasic, and the developer's goal is to recreate the original arcade cabinet experience on the Amiga as good as possible.

Meanwhile a couple of updates were made to the game, including "emulation" of the arcade screen overlay that kind-of adds more colors to the game screen.

Well, it's a classic, everybody likes "Space Invaders", and this is a near-perfect implementation. Certainly another entry in the growing list of great new arcade game remakes for the Amiga, created by true enthusiasts, filling the gaps when there wasn't a port before, or surpassing previous efforts.

You can watch a video of "Space Invaders" on Saberman's awesome YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnKjzKhbqj4

Check the EAB link below for latest updates, and download links:
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=105132

Additional sources:
http://amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2021-01-00074-EN.html
http://www.indieretronews.com/2020/12/space-invaders-amiga-arcade-homebrew.html

Inca Man

And here is yet another good looking platformer game, from Dec. 2020, created by Amiten team from Spain.

The "Inca Man" has to collect diamonds in the numerous single-screen levels of the game, while avoiding enemies and collecting bonus items. When all diamonds in a level have been collected, a little door opens through which the neat looking player sprite can escape to the next level.

Inca Man title screen - you should see it moving

This has quite a BoulderDash-esque appeal, and indeed not only the diamonds, also the pacing is reminiscent of the classic. In other words: "Inca Man" plays great. But of course it's a different game - a side-view jump-and-collect platformer, with it's own really nice visual style. It looks fine, and has a really fitting soundtrack with epic title theme, and driving arcade-style in-game music plus soundeffects. A password system helps you save your game progress, and there are two two-player modes: cooperative and versus. 

"Inca Man" requires an Amiga with 1MB RAM to run. The game is nearing completion, and should be available soon.

Watch "Inca Man" presentation video on Amiten TV's YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4U-TYImj0I

If you want to know more, visit Amiten's facebook pages and their website:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/clubamiten
https://www.facebook.com/Amibroadcaster/
https://www.amiten.es/

Additional sources:
https://www.amigafrance.com/forums/topic/incaman/
http://amiga-news.de/de/news/AN-2021-01-00015-DE.html

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Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for "Games galore #17"!

Check out "Games galore" main page with all articles -
click here!

* * *

Support Amiga game development! Buy a game!

Games galore #15: Luca Carminati games pack, Mutation Gold Compilation & Cyberpunks 2, Looty v2, Blask

In this issue we take a look at a very mixed set of titles: two compilations of arcade games, a little bit of a top-view shooter, a platformer, a first person shooter, and as a bonus the full free release of a strategy classic.

 

Amiga games pack by LC-Games

 

Luca "LC-Games" Carminati has released a set of games he has developed between 1995 and 1998 as an "Amiga games pack" - for free. Cool!

The games are: Croins (an Asteroids clone), Hyper Viper, Kangy, Marietto, and arcade sports game Slalom Speciale.

Hyper Viper, snake type game in a maze

Some of the games have previously been released as shareware titles. Now you can download the ADFs from LC-Games' itch.io page, and enjoy all full versions.

Kangy, a platformer

Arcade gaming with neat graphics and sound, and you get the full package, check this out: "Croins" is a well made Asteroids clone with pounding techno music on the title screen, "Hyper Viper" a snake-type game with a funny looking green worm and less pounding but equally enjoyable music, "Kangy" a platformer with cute looking animals and palm trees, "Marietto" is quite a unique blend of several classic game styles and can get pretty hectic, and finally "Slalom Speciale" is an unobtrusive skiing game.

Marietto - Pang meets Galaga meets Fury of the Furries

All included games are decent titles, no technical spectacle here, but pretty straightforward, and very Amiga-ish, arcade gaming. Very nice - Molto grazie, Luca!

Read more, and download "Amiga games pack" from LC-Games' website page:
https://lowcarb.itch.io/amiga-games-pack

Additional sources:
http://amiga-news.de/de/news/AN-2020-11-00060-DE.html
http://www.indieretronews.com/2020/11/an-amiga-games-pack-released-by-luca.html

 

Mutation Gold Compilation & Cyberpunks 2

 

Support for the Amiga CD32 is always rare, and very much appreciated. Mutation Software has re-released it's "Mutation Gold Compilation" for Amiga CD32, a collection of five games. All games have received some fixes and updates, including adaptions to CD32 joypad.

The individual games are: Doodlebug, Cyberpunks, Tin Toy, Tommy Gun and Castle Kingdoms.

Doodlebug, included in the "Mutation Gold Compilation"

The current (minimum) price for the "Gold Compilation" is $13.49 - but note that for just a few bucks more you can make a bargain and buy the "CD32 Games Bundle" which includes the "Gold Compilation" plus "Wiz - Quest for the Magic Lantern" (CD32 version).

Go to Mutation Software's "Gold Compilation" website page for more information and purchase:
https://softamuse.itch.io/mgc-cd32

Mutation Software has also announced a new game: "Cyberpunks 2" for AGA Amigas, a sequel to top down shooter "Cyberpunks" from 1993 (for OCS/ECS Amigas). "Cyberpunks 2" is said to be for 1 or 2 players, have new levels and new gameplay, and a tentative release date in late 2021.

1993 game "Cyberpunks", sequel announced

Read more about Mutation Software's releases at:
https://mutationsoftware.uk

Additional sources:
http://amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2020-11-00044-EN.html
http://www.indieretronews.com/2020/11/mutation-gold-compilation-and.html
http://hol.abime.net/6231 ("Gold Compilation" original 1998 release)

 

Looty v2

"Looty v2" for all Amigas with 1MB ChipRAM is an updated version of 1993 public domain title "Looty", inspired by ZX Spectrum game "Booty".

It certainly still requires a little bit of polish, but it's quite fast paced, plays smoothly, and: it has a level editor! A platformer with a level editor - that sounds like hours and hours of creating challenging courses. The author has expressed interest in improving the game further, and he'd like a graphics artist to join in. Maybe this is your chance?

Here you can watch a video of "Looty v2" (2020-11-19):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3sBHOZ5F_Q

Read more, and purchase (you can name your own price!) the game at:
https://mixelsoftware.itch.io/looty-v2

Additional sources:
http://www.indieretronews.com/2020/11/looty-v2-amiga-game-inspired-by-classic.html
http://amiga-news.de/de/news/AN-2020-12-00001-DE.html
https://www.amigafuture.de/app.php/newsportal/?ulg=de&news_id=38424
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=104728

Blask, early first person shooter demo

Doom never stops. After "Dread" here's another 2020 low-spec Amiga first person shooter, called "Blask". Actually this project seems to have been around for quite a while, mostly under the name of "Alien Enemy: Dangerous", with occasional tech demos popping up - this one is the latest.

Not too much to show here, but this already looks quite enjoyable. Written in AMOS, it has what appears to be pretty smooth 3D graphics, proper graphics and color palette, and this simple, but quite convincing light source effect.

Certainly a welcome addition to the set of first-person shooters available for the Amiga, make sure you stay up to date on this one.

You can watch the latest tech demo of "Blask" on YouTube (2020-11-09):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIZMbPKN4o4

You can download the demo here:
https://chomikuj.pl/marowu/blaskscr,7450164853.adf

Additional sources:
https://www.ppa.pl/forum/programowanie/36707/alien-enemy-dangerous/14#m702587
http://amiga-news.de/de/news/AN-2020-11-00021-DE.html
http://www.indieretronews.com/2020/11/blask-first-person-shooter-amiga-tech.html

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...and again some bonus gaming news:

Archon and Archon 2 full versions for free

In November 2020 printmag "Amiga Future" continued their efforts of releasing full Amiga software titles for free with the addition of two highly regarded classics: "action-chess"-type games "Archon" and "Archon 2"!

"Archon" from 1985 (Amiga release)

"Archon" (Greek for "ruler") by Electronic Arts was first released for Atari 8-bit computers in 1983, received rave reviews, and was ported to many other platforms, including Amiga. It's a fast-paced mixture of chess-type strategy, and realtime combat action sequences deciding the outcome of individual attacks.

"Archon" combat section

"Archon 2: Adept" from 1984 was the first sequel, released for Amiga in 1988. In later years, more sequels would follow: "Archon Ultra" for MS-DOS in 1994, "Archon: Evolution" around 2007 using some of the original 8-bit code, "Archon" remakes for mobile devices, "Archon Classic" in 2010 available on Steam, and there seems to be another new version in development since 2017.

"Archon 2: Adept" from 1988 (Amiga release)

The games' disk files are available in ADF, IPF (Archon and Archon 2) and WHD (Archon 2 only) format, plus a manual in PDF.

Go to Amiga Future magazine's website to download "Archon" and "Archon 2":
https://www.amigafuture.de/app.php/dlext/search?search_keywords=archon

Additional sources:
https://www.amigafuture.de/app.php/newsportal/?ulg=de&news_id=38388
http://www.amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2020-11-00040-EN.html
https://www.facebook.com/playArchon/
https://archive.org/details/ArchonEvolution
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archon_Ultra

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Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for "Games galore #16"!

Check out "Games galore" main page with all articles -
click here!

* * *

Support Amiga game development! Buy a game!